Keep Calm, Keep Silent
by CixMag
Summary: Everybody has secrets, but some are heavier than others. [Spoils ! This OS takes place after the books !]


Keep calm, Keep silent

_Notes : This oneshot takes place after The Maze Runner series, so it's full of spoils !_

_Friendly reminder that English is not my mothertongue, so if there're problems with my writing skills, please tell me. I need to know if I want to improve myself !_

_Thank you a lot !_

Living near the Cliff wasn't simple, but still better than anywhere else in the world. After what Thomas has been through, after the Maze and the Scorch, the Cliff looked like heaven. A few years has passed by and the Munies who survived had built a town Thomas could now call "home".

The Trials have left a stain in his mind. He couldn't really be comfortable near Brenda since what happened. He's been betrayed, more than once, and he never overcame the doubt that rooted in his heart. The only person he knew he could trust was Minho. He never failed him, never lied to him. He wasn't always smart, but he was true. Thomas tried to remind himself that if Teresa and Brenda had been lying to him, it was all WICKED's fault, but it didn't really help. Their lies... They were too easy for him to fall for. They say trust is like a mirror. Thomas couldn't agree more: even if it's been rebuilt and repaired, he could still see the cracks in his reflection.

He remained alone, a little bit apart, watching his new friends get along with each other. The time that was ticking his his ears reminded him of what he couldn't say. What he promised himself not to tell. The only person he could trust shouldn't trust him. Minho never lied to Thomas, but he did. And the weight of his secret had began to show. The guilt of killing a friend and keep it from his only other friend was something he couldn't stand anymore. When he was with Minho, he couldn't help but think about what he didn't tell him.

"What's on your mind, shank?"

Thomas jumped. He didn't see Minho approaching. His timing was so good it freaked him out.

"Nothing. Just thinking." he replied.

"Don't shuck with me." The Glade words stuck to their brains, reminders of what they lived and went through in the Maze. "I know something's wrong." Minho said.

"Just... leave me alone. Please."

The quiet and tired tone of Thomas' voice convinced Minho to do exactly the opposite. He sat near his friend, genuinely worried.

"Tell me what's wrong and I'll go."

"... I can't. Sorry." Silence fell between the two men. "By the way, don't you have some duties to attend to? As a leader?"

Minho smiled. "I'm thinking about making them vote for it. We're settled now, it's time for them to choose their own leader."

It was Thomas' turn to smile. "They'll choose you."

"Thanks, but I don't think so. I'm tired. I'm not gonna participate. I don't want to lead anymore."

Thomas looked at Minho as if he's never seen before.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He was dead serious. "You're a leader Thomas, not me. Newt could have been too."

"Please..." Sorrow and pain showed on Thomas' face. Thinking about Newt and how he ended hurt him more than anything else.

"I'm missing him too." Minho added.

"No... you don't understand..."

"I may not be smart, but I'm not totally dumb either. Newt went crazy. And I guessed what you've done. I hope you've done it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You. Saying Newt's name seems to hurt you like hell. And even if we're living quite peacefully now, in a haven of Immunes, you don't look happy. You're not happy, Thomas. Sometimes... You scare me."

"What?" Thomas couldn't understand what Minho was telling him: he was too focused on the secret he wanted to keep, in vain.

Minho turned to face him, staring at him right in the eyes. "I'm afraid you'd jump the Cliff. You seem so depressed, it's like you're about to kill yourself the moment I'm not looking. I'm worried about you, shuck-face. What's wrong? Why can't you tell me?"

"I can't. I promised myself not to." Thomas tried not to cry. He didn't realize he was already crying.

"You don't have to, I think I know. Newt was clever, but he had weaknesses. He tried to kill himself in the Maze once, and failed. He was afraid. And when he got the Flare, I think he asked you to kill him. Am I wrong?"

Thomas buried his face in his hands. "No... He asked me... And I did it. I did it Minho, I killed him." He felt his friend's arms around him, gentle and comforting.

"I'm angry. I'm furious"

"I'm so sorry... so sorry..."

"Don't be. I only wish he'd could have done it himself, Thomas. I'm mad at Newt, not you. What kind of friend asks you to kill him...?"

"He couldn't... He was near the Gone..."

"I don't care. That was cruel. Look what he's done to you. I... I understand him, but I can't forgive him."

"I had to..."

"I know."

"I didn't want to tell you. I was afraid to... I thought you'd left me alone."

"Never, Thomas. I never let you down and I never will. If you feel lonely, you did this to yourself."

"I'm sorry..."

"Yeah." Minho turned his gaze on the sea. "Me too." He loved Newt, but what he did to Thomas was too horrible to be easily forgotten. "Sometimes I'm right, and I'd prefer not to be. I can't imagine what you've been through, Thomas. I don't even know if I'd have the courage to do what you did. But I know it would have devastated me."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Minho. I'm so sorry..."

"Don't 'I'm sorry' me, please. Just don't."

"So you don't hate me for this...?"

"For what? Ending Newt's misery, or lying to me about it?" Minho didn't wait for an answer, because it wasn't a real question anyway. "I don't hate you, Thomas." Hell, he didn't hate him. How could he? He hugged him a little bit more, trying not to make him feel awkward about the sudden promiscuity.

He loved Newt, that's true, but he loved Thomas even more.

Everybody has secrets.


End file.
